The Diamond Dust Rebellion
by Akari Kamiya
Summary: This is a remake of 'Bleach the Movie 2: The Diamond Dust Rebellion' A bit of Toshiro/OC romance; not much though, I'm not very good at writing romance stories XD One-Shot! Hope you enjoy!


The Diamond Dust Rebellion

_A/N (Non-RP): I own nothing and nobody except Akari, Sakura and Aido. My two BFFs own Namiko and Kanae. _

_I do not own the movie 'Bleach the Movie 2: The Diamond Dust Rebellion.' _

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this re-count! I can't remember every detail exactly, so I took a few bits out and changed some parts. : ) **

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"I still can't believe it! Can you Shiro?!" I cry, leaping up to stand on the same level of reishi as him.

"Don't call me that," He mutters to me "And you can't believe what Akari?"

"That we've been ordered to help protect the royal family! What else?!"

"Yes I can believe it, we're here aren't we? And stop making so much noise; we're supposed to not let anyone know we're here."

I stick my tongue out at him and grin as Rangiku appears behind us;

"Captain!"

"Rangiku?"

"All teams report that everything is normal."

"Good, get back to work, report to me with anything unusual."

"Yes sir!" She replies and disappears.

I take a good look at the enormous cloud above us;

"It's even more incredible this close!"

"There's always such a fanfare wherever royalty goes."

"Toshiro! Don't say things like that! You'll get in trouble!"

"Yeah well, right now shouldn't you be getting-"

He breaks off as he seems to notice something in the distance. I look around, trying to see what he's so focused on, I don't have to; I can feel it.

An electric ball of light slams into the carriage of the royal procession, I can see Rangiku ordering the squad to attack, I decide to go on the offensive as well. I release Hikari and leap up onto the solid ground of the reishi platform.

I look for the enemy and immediately see Toshiro facing off against someone on top of one of the destroyed carriages. I leap up next to Rangiku and stare up at the fight;

"Who on earth is that?" I ask.

"No idea, he seems to know the captain though." Rangiku replies.

"Hmmmmmmmmm….." I murmur. Kiko flies upwards to get a better look at the battle;

_"As Rangiku said; the stranger seems to know Hitsugaya, but I don't think Hitsugaya knows him, although I can't exactly hear what they're saying; just snatches of conversation."_

She flies back to my shoulder as the stranger leaps away from Toshiro and disappears, leaving Toshiro with the ragged cloak he was wearing only moments before.

"Toshiro!" I yell "Who was that?! Are you alright?!"

He turns a little, staring at the ground then his eyes flick up to stare at me before disappearing using shunpo.

"Toshiro!" I yell again, but it's no use, he's already gone, he could be miles away by now.

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A captain's meeting is called the next afternoon, Captain Soi Fon gives a long report on the crime scene and the fact that Squad two spent all day searching the scene for the owing.

I'm almost asleep by the end of it.

"In conclusion, sir, nothing was found of the owing. We believe that whoever is responsible for the attack has it now. Also, based on the reports on squad 10, Captain Hitsugaya pursued the attacker and is currently missing."

"Wait a moment!" Rangiku yells. I wince, is she drunk or something? Speaking out of turn at a captain's meeting could get you severely punished!

"You make it sound like Captain Hitsugaya purposely abandoned his post!"

"It's the only valid explanation; he abandoned his post and disobeyed his orders."

I stiffen, my hands curling into tight fists; I bite my lip so hard I can taste blood.

A hand touches my shoulder; Captain Unohana. She shoots me a warning look, that's all I need to stay silent.

"It's not true!" Rangiku yells; "He would never-"

"That is enough Lieutenant Matsumoto."

Rangiku shuts her mouth, as anyone would when being chastised by the Headcaptain;

"You misunderstand the magnitude of this situation, the entire squad must be held responsible. Remember your place!"

Rangiku lowers her head and bows down to her knees again. She looks so forlorn.

The Headcaptain gives orders for the owing to be found and Captain Hitsugaya to be captured. Then he dismisses us.

Immediately I head over to the Squad 10 barracks, I need to talk to Namiko and Kanae about this. I know for a fact that when you need someone to talk to, you should always turn to your friends.

As soon as I arrive I know that something is wrong; there are members of Squad 1 here.

I head inside and find Kanae standing with Rangiku, Renji and Rukia.

"What's going on?" I ask.

Kanae sighs;

"We're being confined to our barracks until further notice. Headcaptain's orders."

"This is ridiculous, and where is Namiko?"

"She's currently in the Squad 4 relief centre; she thought it would be a good idea to challenge Ikkaku Madarame to a sparring match." Kanae tells me.

"Idiot…" I mutter. "But on other matters, I need to ask you all something."

"Go ahead" Rangiku says.

"I'm listening" Rukia agrees.

"I want you guys to promise me something first; no matter what I tell you or ask you, do you swear to keep it a secret?"

"Yes." The four of them say in unison.

"Ok then, thanks. Renji, Rukia, I need to disappear for a few days, can you guys cover for me and say I'm doing some surveillance? In Rukongai?"

"Ok, but why Kari?" Rukia asks.

"I…I can't tell you…" I say, staring down at my feet; "Just… cover for me ok?"

"Course, I do owe you one." Renji says, I grin at him.

Then a squad 1 member speaks up;

"Sorry, but I've been ordered to shut down the barracks; everyone must be cleared from these quarters. Lieutenant Abarai, Captain Kamiya, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I understand, we're leaving now" Renji says and turns to Rukia "Let's go"

"Sorry" Rukia says with a bow to Rangiku.

I sigh and Shunpo away, but not before I see Rangiku stop Renji to tell him something. _"What's that all about?"_ Kiko asks.

_"I don't know."_ I reply.

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I stand on top of a telephone pole, feeling the reishi around me. Nothing.

I snarl in frustration. Where the hell is he?!

I decide to do some snooping and head over to Urahara's shop; he has an extensive library that I can surely look through without being discovered. Maybe I can find something in there about the man I saw attacking Toshiro.

I leap off the telephone pole and tell Kiko where I'm headed; she's scouting for me. She tells me she'll be there a few minutes after me, as she's a bit further away.

I jump down off the roof of a skyscraper and land in front of the door. I silently open it and sneak through, moving just like Toshiro always taught me; back to the wall, taking silent, sideways steps. I reach the door leading into the house part and I'm about to open it when I hear a very familiar voice discussing a subject that chills me to the bone.

Rukia is here, talking about Toshiro and my lieutenant;

"I know he grew up with Lieutenant Hinamori of squad five, they're very close" I hear Rukia say

"Well why don't we ask her if she knows anything?" comes another voice, I don't recognize his voice, he's probably one of those ryoka Byakuya mentioned

I hear a sigh;

"Unfortunately she's in the hospital re-cooperating right now. And even if we could talk to her I doubt she'd be able to help us; she told me that Captain Hitsugaya doesn't like to talk about his past."

"What about Akari Kamiya?" Comes a different voice, I freeze with shock, how would any of the ryoka know me?

"How do you know her?" Rukia asks

"Toshiro mentioned her, he asked me to give her a message."

"And that message was?" A girl's voice asks.

"He asked me to tell her that if she comes after him, and he didn't seem to doubt she will, that he's alright and not to worry about him; that he can take care of himself. But Rukia, who is she?"

"Well, Akari is-" starts Rukia

"Standing outside, waiting to be invited in." comes a voice i easily recognize. Dammit, Kisuke's here;

"Why don't you stop sneaking around and come in Akari?" He calls, louder this time.

I open the door sheepishly;

"Well, I guess you found me. Impressive Urahara, I was using a Reishi hiding technique that _Yoruichi_ taught me."

"Well it seems I taught you well, even I could barely feel your spirit energy."

I turn to see a black cat sunbathing in the light of the window;

"Oh Yoruichi! How are you? I didn't even realize you were there!"

"That's one of the perks of being a cat. And I'm fine thanks for asking."

I grin and sit down on one of the spare cushions that are around the table, pulling my zanpakto from my back as I do so.

"Wait a minute… Are you a Captain?!" One of the boys asks, he has orange hair.

"Yes I am a Captain, I'm the newly appointed Captain of squad Five and, seeing as you already know my name, why don't you guys tell me what your names are?" I say, pouring myself a cup of tea.

"Ummmmmm… Right, I'll start… I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute soul reaper. And you seem a bit, well, _young_ to be a captain."

_"So that's who he is._" Kiko says, landing on the windowsill above Yoruichi. I ignore Ichigo and let the others continue, they don't even notice the tiny dragon;

"I'm Uryu Ishida, and I am a Quincy." I nod respectfully to the pale skinned guy with glasses and look and the other guy, he's darker skinned with messy, dark brown hair.

"My name is Chad; it's nice to meet you…"

"And you too Chad" I say respectfully.

"And I'm Orihime!" Exclaims the long haired girl, she seems the kind of person who would always be happy.

"And now why don't you tell us why you're sneaking around instead of just coming in and saying hi?" Kisuke asks.

I life my chin defiantly;

"Because if it's one thing I've learnt from my father, it's that you should never outright do something if you think it may dishonour your family. I know it sounds stupid, but I'm too tired to come up with a smart-alek remark right now."

Kisuke smirks behind his fan;

"Fair enough."

"And your Father is who?" Ichigo butts in.

"The head of the Kuchiki clan; Byakuya Kuchiki."

"What?! Him?!"

"I'm guessing by the look on your face that you know him."

"Yeah I know him; he's tried to kill me numerous times and he didn't even care when Rukia was sentenced to death! How can a heartless guy like him be a father?!"

I stand up, grabbing my sword and beginning to emit black reishi energy;

"I dare you to say that again!" I yell at him. "Byakuya Kuchiki took me in when I was a baby and has raised me since then, and yet you have the very nerve to call him heartless?!"

"Akari, stop." Rukia says; "Ichigo doesn't know any better, he doesn't think that Byakuya is a very good brother to me, so why would he think he would make a very good father? Plus, Ichigo is an idiot; so you really shouldn't take him seriously."

Ichigo glares at my half-sister, but decides to say nothing; wise of him.

I hesitate, then I sit down. Fuming.

Kisuke pours himself another cup of tea, then he stands up;

"Well, we're not going to make any progress just by sitting here talking" Kisuke says "I think I'll do a little research on my own, while I do that why don't the rest of you go out and look for him"

I sigh and nod, "I agree, we're not going to solve anything by sitting on our butts; it's not like he's going to be spooked out of hiding simply by me getting mad at everyone. My apologies Ichigo, I shouldn't have lost my temper so easily."

"It's fine; it's happened to me as well."

I frown and get up to leave. Kiko flutters to my shoulder; if anyone notices her, they don't say anything.

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It's only a few hours later when I feel it.

Toshiro's spirit energy.

Immediately I race off in the direction that he's in, it could be a trap, but I don't care; there's a chance it could be Toshiro and that's enough for me.

I reach a small cluster of trees and start to leap from tree to tree until I reach it.

A small shrine; that must be where Toshiro is hiding out, but why would he not conceal his reishi?

Is he trying to lure someone in?

Or is he not able to hide himself properly?

Just then, there's the sound of people flash stepping into the clearing.

It's Shuuhei Hisagi and Izuru Kira; along with members from their squads, they must be here to try and arrest Toshiro, within moments, I am proven correct;

"Captain Hitsugaya! This is an executive order! You are to return to the soul society immediately!" I lean forward from my perch, I wonder what Toshiro will do?

He opens the door and steps out, drawing his sword as he goes;

"I have no intention of doing that!"

A fight ensues from there, I watch on helplessly, I want to help my squad members but I know that if I release either Hikari or Daaku in such a small space, everything will be obliterated.

Then Hisagi uses his signature move, Hyapporankan. Toshiro is stabbed through the shoulder. My heart throbs with pain for him, but there's nothing I can do but watch as Toshiro releases his zanpakto and attacks Izuru, Hisagi and the others.

Just before he disappears, I see him look up at me, his mouth moves, but by the time his words reach me he's gone;

"I thought I told you I can take care of myself, don't come after me again Akari."

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After the fight, I return to the others and join them in listening to Rukia give her report to a messenger, who will then in turn, relay it to Captain Ukitake.

A few minutes later, we meet outside to talk and exchange news.

I tell the group everything I saw;

"He was able to defeat all of them?" Uryu asks.

"I can't believe Captain Hitsugaya would attack his own men!" Orihime exclaims.

"That's not all," Rukia says, continuing my story "Captain Kyuraku was also injured."

Chad gasps quietly, I'm shocked too, Captain Kyuraku? Defeated?

"Why is this happening?" Chad asks.

"According to Renji everyone who tried to stop Hitsugaya was badly injured by his Hyurimaru," Rukia says.

I frown and distance myself from the others, tuning out to their talking. Everyone who tried to stop him was badly injured; except me... why though? Why did he not attack me?

Then I notice the sun coming up.

"Everyone is exhausted, I know that much; I say we all head home and get some rest" Rukia says.

I hear Orihime protesting but Ichigo tells her to be quiet and do as she's told; clearly he's tired and grumpy. Not a good idea for me to hang around here much longer.

I tell the others that I'm tired as well and that I'm going to bunker down at Urahara's for the night;

"We should meet in the morning to discuss plans, once we're better rested and in better moods" I explain, shooting a look at Ichigo.

He winces at my glance;

"Plus," I continue; "I have a Captain's meeting to listen in to. I'll tell you guys' news when I get it."

We agree to meet at Ichigo's house in the morning to exchange news and discuss plans.

We bid each other good night and go our separate ways.

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The Headcaptain's hell butterfly lands on my palm and opens a small portal in which I can see through. This allows me to take part in the captain's meeting even though I'm not there.

I hear terrifying news; the Headcaptain has proof that Toshiro is a traitor and he's ordering an execution!

"No!" I cry, before anyone can say anything else, I can see Byakuya trying to catch my eye, to tell me to shut up and obey orders. I ignore him and continue without hesitation;

"You must be mistaken Headcaptain! There's no way that Captain Hitsugaya would ever betray the 13 court guard squads! He told me once that he will be loyal to them to the end! How can you jump to conclusions like this?!"

"That is enough Captain Kamiya!"

I stiffen, the Headcaptain may be a world away, but he is still scary through a hell butterfly.

"There is enough proof that we can define him a traitor, no-one can object to these orders; by any means necessary, execute him!"

I lower my head and cut off the connection, not even waiting to be dismissed, I don't care anymore.

_"So, what now?"_ Kiko asks.

_"We can't rely on anyone from the soul society to help us, we're on our own."_ I tell her.

_"What about Ichigo and Rukia and the others?"_

_"I would prefer it if they stayed out of this, but I can't stop them from helping if they want to help."_

_"Spoken like a true Kuchiki!"_

_"Shut up."_

I break off the connection and head towards Ichigo's place, Kiko in her customary spot around my neck.

As soon as I reach Ichigo's street, I know that something is wrong; I can hear yells and I can feel extremely powerful spirit energy, as I get closer, I can hear Ichigo yelling, I take up a perch above where the fight is taking place;

"Who the hell are you?!" Ichigo yells.

"My name;" a strange man says; "Is Sojiro Kusaka, the man who was forced to fight in the central 46 chamber! The man who was murdered by Toshiro Hitsugaya!"

I gasp; he must be the one Toshiro still grieves for! I remember he told me once that he lost a friend when he was young and that's why he fights to protect me, he doesn't want to lose me like he lost his other friend so long ago.

"Now that the soul society has branded Hitsugaya as a traitor, he no longer has a home to return to." He continues.

"You're wrong!" I yell at him, leaping down from the power pole I'm standing on; "I will fight for Toshiro before I fight for the soul society! Do you know why? Because he is my friend! Just like he was yours once!"

Kusaka ignores me;

"Now the only thing standing in my way is you!" He yells, pointing at Ichigo; "So you shall die soul reaper!"

He shoves me aside and stabs me in the arm, I gasp in pain and immediately my vision blurs.

Kusaka shoves me to the ground and turns to Ichigo.

The two leap towards each other and the two zanpakto's clash together, and I see a glazed look overcome both of the two soul reaper's faces.

The zanpakto resonating with each other. I wonder what they could be seeing.

All of a sudden, they come back to the present.

Kusaka removes his mask and laughs in Ichigo's face, then he forces him backward with a single strike from his sword and freezes him by releasing his shikai.

I can just make out the shadowy outline that must be Ichigo's frozen form.

I can see the look of shock on Rukia's face, she wants to go help him, as do I. but there's nothing either of us can do in our current state.

I see Kusaka say something to the girls who accompany him, then he disappears.

"Rukia!" I yell, she whips around to face me, her eyes widen at the wound on my arm;

"I know where he's going! I can track him! Can you deal with things here? I think he's going after Toshiro!"

She nods to me and mouths 'go.'

_"You are not going anywhere with a wound like that!" _Kiko exclaims.

_"And who's going to stop me? You?"_

_"No, but I can heal it."_

She jumps down my arm and wraps herself around the wound.

She begins to glow and I give a sigh of relief as I feel the wound close.

_"I didn't know you could do that!" _I say.

_"Neither did I until a few days ago. But let's not waste time on that. Don't you have somewhere to be?"_

_"Oh yeah, I didn't notice."_ I reply sarcastically.

I break connection with her and leap into the air. Reaching out to Kusaka's life force and tracking it across town.

I track Kusaka across town and down into the main sewer.

_"Seems legit"_ Kiko says

_"What does?"_ I ask

_"Well, considering that this Kusaka guy is as slimy and disgusting as a sewer rat, the sewers are the perfect place for him to hang out"_

I snigger, sometimes Kiko makes the best jokes.

I leap into the hole, still following his reishi trail he so carelessly left behind.

I walk into the massive room that I suspect is where water is purified or something? The world of the living can be so confusing at times...

I leap up on top of a big tank and crouch down, searching around for him.

Then I hear voices, well, one voice. It's Kusaka, he seems to be talking to someone;

"Well, it took you a while, but you finally found me; I've been waiting for you."

I hear a gasp, then I hear a voice that makes my heart skip a beat;

"Kusaka..." It's Toshiro.

"I wounded you with Hyurimaru for a very good reason; I was sending you a message, what better way to tell you I'm still alive? Do you believe it now?"

I snarl under my breath; the bastard.

While Kiko is muttering curses under her breath, Kusaka continues;

"So my old partner, life has certainly led us on a strange journey to bring us to this point."

"What do you mean?" Toshiro asks. Kusaka just chuckles.

I hear him talking about the 13 court guard squads and some other things, before a subject comes up that chills me to the bone;

"What made you stick around? Is it that childhood friend of yours?"

"Momo has nothing to do with this-"

"Or is it perhaps that young apprentice of yours? What was her name again... oh that's right, Akari wasn't it?"

I hear Toshiro snarl at him, Kusaka ignores him and continues;

"Why don't we go pay her a visit? I'm sure she'd love a visit from her old mentor, considering how weak she is; we could finish her in an instant."

Kiko says nothing to stop me as I lose my temper and yell;

"I dare you to come over here and say that to my face you icicle toothed git!"

"Hmmmmm, I knew you were hiding her somewhere, it seems I was right about the water tank."

Damn, it was a trap; and I fell right into it.

Then the ground sweeps out from beneath my feet, there's a flash of gold light and then instead of sitting on top of the water tank, I'm sitting on dusty ground instead, only a few metres from Toshiro.

It's sogyoku hill.

Toshiro stares at me, I get to my feet, glaring at Kusaka;

"You bastard, what are you planning to do?"

"Toshiro and I are finally going to get our revenge on the seireitei!"

I look over my shoulder at Toshiro and then back at Kusaka;

"You _and_ Toshiro? I think it's just you in on that plan."

He snarls at me and then begins to talk to Toshiro, I tune out and begin to listen to the goings on around us.

I can hear yells and shouts from all the way down in the squad barracks. I'm not surprised, but in case you are, allow me to break it down for you;

Yellow lightning, plus Captain Hitsugaya's spirit energy, plus an unknown spirit energy, equals (in the squad member's minds) an enemy attack.

I can hear hell butterflies giving messages to different squads, it's interfering with my communication with Kiko.

I lift my hands to protect my face from the wind and lightning, as does Toshiro.

Then I hear definite signs of shunpo behind us. Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Namiko and Kanae. Earlier than the others.

"Akari!" Namiko yells "Are you ok?! Where on earth have you been?!"

Before I can answer Toshiro whips around and attacks me, I only get a few seconds to draw my sword to block his attack.

"What are you doing?" I hiss to him

"Do not interfere" he tells me. Then he shoves me backwards towards the girls and turns to face Kusaka.

Then Ikkaku decides to make his move, he leaps at Kusaka, his intentions clear on his face; he means to kill him.

Toshiro blocks his attack and forces him backwards.

A fight ensues. I'm torn between helping Toshiro and helping Namiko and the others, but before I can make a choice, the squads arrive.

"That's far enough!" Captain Soi Fon yells.

The captains advance in front of the other squad members in a line.

"Throw down your weapon Hitsugaya!" Soi Fon continues.

"You too whoever you are!" Captain Komomura bellows.

Kusaka starts laughing, he tells Toshiro that it's time, that he should cut the owing.

"Seize them immediately!" Soi Fon yells.

Everyone charges forward, roaring battle cries and whatnot. I don't know what to do. But I know I have to do something, otherwise they'll kill Shiro!

"GETSUGA TENSHO!" Comes a bellow. Ichigo. Of course.

A black burst of reishi explodes from above, leaving an enormous crack in the ground.

"STOP!"

Ichigo lands in front of the now still soul reapers and starts to talk;

"You act so smart but the only way you can solve a problem is to fight! There's not one among you who really wants to kill Toshiro is there? And even if it is an order shouldn't you think twice before trying to kill your friend?"

I step up beside the tall soul reaper;

"Ichigo is right! I don't care what anyone else thinks! I'm on Toshiro's side no matter what and I'd rather fight alongside him than obey any execution order any day!"

Byakuya stares at me, as if he thought I would think different. I glare at him defiantly, lifting my chin a little. Namiko and Kanae are also staring, but with something other than shock or hatred; admiration. They admire the fact that I'm rebelling like this.

"Stay out of this it doesn't involve you!" Soi Fon yells "We are under the Headcaptain's orders! We have sworn to carry out our orders no matter what! It's our duty as soul reapers!"

"Yeah well I'm telling you your orders don't make any sense!" Ichigo yells back.

"You're just wasting our time! If you keep resisting us you'll have to die as well!"

"What and kill me too? Whatever happened to the lifelong friendship we had Soi Fon?! I can't believe I ever put my faith in you; oh wait, no I didn't" I snarl at her.

The look on her face rivals Toshiro's death glare, wow I didn't know I was that annoying...

"Hold it!"

I whip around to see the Headcaptain, all the squad members bow down.

Ichigo stands tall, as do I.

I can see a familiar face coming along behind the Headcaptain. Captain Kyuraku. He's alright!

The Headcaptain addresses Kusaka with much dislike and the two talk for a few minutes until;

Kusaka thrusts the owing into the air, Toshiro leaps at him their swords clash in a flurry of sparks and ice.

Toshiro is thrown backwards.

"Captain no!" Rangiku yells, running forward.

"You bastard!" I yell at the same time, launching myself at Kusaka.

"Stay back! Both of you! This is my fight!"

Kusaka and Toshiro fight for a few minutes as they argue, Rangiku, myself and everyone else watching on, then;

Kusaka cuts the owing in half.

Instantly, a wild wind whips up, swirling into a twister around Kusaka.

I leap in front of Toshiro, joining Ichigo in protecting him;

"Leave." Toshiro says

"No;" I reply, "I won't leave you."

"Don't Toshiro, you don't have to bear the burden by yourself anymore" Ichigo says.

"Get out of the way, both of you!" Toshiro cries, attempting to shove us out of the way.

Ichigo turns to face him, "This effects all of us you can't just shoulder all of this by yourself! You're not the only one who has suffered and you're not the only one who feels pain so you gotta let us help!"

Toshiro turns away only to look at my feet;

"I am no longer a captain Ichigo"

Ichigo growls and slams his fist into Toshiro's face.

"Ichigo!" I yell "That's uncalled for!"

He ignores me.

"You've tried to burden this alone, your friends want to help but you won't let them, do you have any idea how that makes them feel?!"

Toshiro sneaks a sideways look at me, taking in my expression. I don't know what my face looks like, but I hope it reflects all the pain I've felt over these past few days

The wind gets louder and I can't hear what Ichigo is saying anymore, but I'm guessing it's something heartfelt.

I help Toshiro to his feet, he leans against me, panting; he's injured and exhausted; he shouldn't be fighting like this.

Then, Kusaka finishes his transformation.

A huge dragon made of ice. He destroys the footing that half of squad 10, myself and Toshiro are standing on and we don't even have time to use shunpo to stay upright. I lose hold of Toshiro's arm and plummet towards the ground.

A rock hits me on the head; and I black out.

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When I wake, Toshiro is sitting next to me, sword drawn. Protecting me?

I sit up and look around, are we still in the soul society? Everything looks so different. I can see a castle like structure that I'm guessing is Kusaka's humble abode. We seem to be surrounded by some sort of spiritual wall.

"Good to see you're finally awake, we should move on now." Toshiro says, interrupting my thoughts.

I nod and stand up, I'm dizzy, I can't walk straight.

Toshiro grabs my arm to steady me.

I can hear Rangiku and Ichigo arguing about... I think what the best plan of attack is?

My hearing is off as well, I can only hear snatches of conversation.

Oh well, at least I can see properly.

I carefully pull my arm from Toshiro's grasp, embarrassed;

"Thanks, but I'm ok now" I mutter to him.

He nods and turns to the others, ready to give orders, just as Yoruichi and Soi Fon appear a little away.

"Ichigo!" Yoruichi yells.

"Hey Yoruichi!" Ichigo yells back, we all run over to join them.

"There's not much time so we've gotta move fast!" Yoruichi continues.

"Headcaptain Yamamoto is going everything he can to try and suppress the expansion" Soi Fon explains; "We've been sent with orders to find and eliminate Kusaka"

"Fine but how do we get to him? All of us are injured and Akari can hardly walk" Ichigo explains

I scoff;

"Don't judge a book by its cover, human, I could run circles around you even in my current state."

Yoruichi ignores me;

"I suggest you use your legs and start climbing, when you get to the top you're going to have to cut through the main tower."

Toshiro frowns, I can almost hear what he's thinking; why go in without a proper plan of attack?

"We should attack as soon as possible as he's stopped moving temporarily." Yoruichi continues.

"Alright," Ichigo agrees.

"Not so fast!" comes a yell. Ikkaku! "I'm afraid I didn't get an invitation, so I hope nobody minds if I crash this party!"

"And don't forget me." Another voice says; Yumichika, figures those two would be together, they're inseparable fighting partners.

Then we all gasp as the unmistakable sound of hollows fills the air.

"Don't worry about the hollows! We'll take care of them!" Yoruichi yells and her and Soi Fon race off, activating their shunco as they go.

I watch for a minute as they slice through each hollow with their bare hands, I really should ask Yoruichi if she can teach me that...

I turn to face the others;

"To get to our goal we have to go straight up" Ichigo says.

"Right" Renji agrees.

I turn to look at Toshiro, he's looking up at the castle.

"Captain" Rangiku says, I look at her, Toshiro turns to face her.

"I brought this" in her hands in Toshiro's hiori; folded and in seemingly perfect condition.

Toshiro looks around at all of us, his eyes resting lastly on me. I smile at him and nod, if he's going to fight alongside us, he should be considered a captain again.

He pulls on the coat and straps his zanpakto to his back,

"Akari... Rangiku..."

"Yes sir?" Rangiku replies

"Toshiro?" I question.

He looks over his shoulder at us;

"Watch my back will you?"

"Of course" I reply immediately.

"Yes sir!" Rangiku says.

I come to stand beside Toshiro, my shikai of light already released. He smiles at me.

Then he stares down at the ragged old cloak in his hands and throws it into the air, the wind takes it up at whips it upwards, towards Kusaka's tower.

Then we're running;

"We'll form two groups!" Toshiro yells at us

"Right" Ichigo replies "Renji, Rukia, let's go!"

"Right!" they yell in unison and the three of them shunpo away.

"Why do I always get stuck with you two?" Rangiku asks, looking at Ikkaku and Yumichika.

"Gah, Shut up!" Ikkaku yells at her.

I smirk in Toshiro's direction, he's holding back laughter, I can tell.

We start to leap up the wall, Toshiro in the lead.

I see movement out of the corner of my eye and I start to dodge, but it's too fast.

An electrical blast slams into me, knocking me off the wall, electrocuted like this, I can't do anything.

I start to fall.

Then a hand grabs mine and pulls me towards them. Toshiro.

I grab onto a ledge, gasping for breath, staring up at the white haired captain.

"Don't thank me, just get moving" he tells me.

I nod and scramble to my feet, just as the electrical monster targets the others, letting loose a flurry of electrical shots that knock Rangiku from her perch.

"Rangiku!" Toshiro yells "Dammit you'll pay for this you bastard!"

He releases Hyurimaru, but it does nothing against the beast's attacks.

Just then, the castle starts to crumble.

"What the hell is that?!" I yell at the others over the enormous racket

"It feels like the whole place is coming down!" Rangiku yells

"No, that's not it," Ikkaku says, his eyes widening; "It's spiritual pressure! The captain!"

"Let's get to the top!" Toshiro tells us.

"Right behind you" I tell him.

We leap up onto the very top of the castle; I'm shocked by what I'm seeing. It seems that Kusaka can summon menos as well as hollows and he's ordered them to protect his main tower.

Toshiro activates his Bankai, I decide that it may be a good idea for me to do the same.

I can see clearer through the eyes of my dragon mask, they allow me to see further than any other human, so they're helpful in a fight such as this.

I block a cero that was originally aimed at Toshiro and then let Daaku take control of my Bankai, meaning that I'm allowing him to go on a rampage.

Everyone is fighting something, either a hollow or a menos. This is insane! I've never felt so many powerful spiritual pressures in one place at the same time!

"Do what?!" I hear Toshiro say, Rangiku mast be explaining her plan to him, it's a crazy idea, but it just might work. I take control again and land next to Toshiro;

"It's the only way!" Rangiku explains; "If we all pull our strength Ikkaku, Yumichika, Akari and I might be able to create an opening even if it's just for an instant!"

"Count me out of that plan Rangiku! I already told you! I'm fighting at Toshiro's side until the end!"

"No." Toshiro says. "I won't let you follow me only to get hurt"

"Don't underestimate me! I can take care of myself! You don't have to try and protect me like last time!"

He scowls, and I instantly feel guilty. I shouldn't have brought that incident up...

I sigh;

"Sorry, I'll stay here is you want me to."

"No, you're right, you're a captain now; you can protect yourself. Just don't fight for me, I'm not worth it."

I gape at him; I was not expecting that.

Then another unexpected thing happens, all of the menos and hollows line up; to prepare for a final attack.

"No..." I whisper

Toshiro moves in front of me, but even him shielding me won't do any good. That amount of ceros will obliterate us all.

There's nothing we can do to stop them.

I cover my head with my hands as if that will stop it, waiting to die.

It doesn't come.

I look up and see that we're surrounded by glowing pink blades.

I look around, searching for the one responsible.

I don't have to look far.

Byakuya. My father. He's talking to Ichigo, Rukia and Renji, not even looking at me.

Toshiro offers me his hand, I take it and he pulls me to my feet.

Then, without so much as a warning, the barrier that saved us disintegrates into millions of cherry blossom petals, wiping out all the enemies within a three hundred metre range.

I follow Toshiro as he races up the tower, destroying all the dragons Ichigo leaves us to deal with.

"Go!" I yell to him "I'll handle them! Go!"

He hesitates for a moment, then shoots up the rest of the way after Ichigo.

I destroy the last three dragons and head up to join Toshiro. I leap up above the platform and stand next to Ichigo, who's watching Toshiro fight, or rather, bleed.

Then I see where Toshiro's blade is.

Right through Kusaka's chest.

I see the two exchange a few words before Kusaka disintegrates into mere reishi.

The owing forms from the reishi left behind and drops onto the ground at Ichigo's feet. He picks it up;

"This little thing did all that..."

I rush over to help Toshiro, he's staring down at Hyurimaru with a kind of forlorn expression. I rub his shoulder gently, he turns to look at me and gives a small smile. The sunlight looks great on his hair, wait... sunlight?! I look up at what I'm expecting to be the spiritual barrier, instead I see clouds with the sun trying to shine through.

"Hey" Ichigo calls, Toshiro turns to face him, only to catch the owing that is thrown at him before it hits him in the face.

"You know what? I don't think he has any regrets. This time he got a fair chance to settle things. Sometimes it seems like life hasn't given us a fair shake, know what I mean?"

I sigh sadly and nod in agreement; remembering Lady Hisana.

"And no-one can tell us how to get beyond that," Ichigo continues "We have to figure it out for ourselves."

Toshiro stares down at the owing, then turns to look at me. I carefully wipe the tears from my cheeks and smile at him, Ichigo keeps talking;

"He was given a second chance at life and he decided to come back here, he could have let someone else do it for him; but all he wanted was to settle this fight for himself. That's it; he stayed true to his feelings."

He laughs;

"Although he sure did put all of us through hell!"

Toshiro looks down at the hand that I'm holding and chuckles.

"Come on Toshiro, Akari. Let's head back."

I glare at the substitute soul reaper;

"That's Captain Kamiya to you."

Toshiro looks up at Ichigo;

"And my name's not Toshiro, it's Captain Hitsugaya."

"You two are perfect for each other..." Ichigo mutters and shunpos away before I can hit him.

I turn to face Toshiro;

"Well what do you think? Should we go and join the others?"

He smiles at me;

"Yeah, but first..."

He hugs me, tightly.

"Thank you." he whispers in my ear; "You stayed by my side even though you knew you too could be accused of treason. You believed in me."

I smile into his shoulder;

"You're welcome."

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**A/N: OH MY GOSHNESS!**

**This thing is finally done!**

**OMG!**

**This super long re-count took me over 3 days to write!**

**But I'm so happy it's finally done!**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this!**

**More stories coming soon!**

**Peace out!**

**-Akari**


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